Member Only Events

Club members had a great deal of fun and practice at our mock trial held in March 2025

Due to the mock trial being postponed - not once but twice - due to a Total Fire Ban being in place we tried for the mock trial one last time.  Perseverance paid off and over 50 members attended with their dogs to spend a day learning together with searches prepared across 7 different classes from novice all the way up to ultimate scenarios being prepared by current judges, trainee judges and local instructors! Photos and memories to be added to online platforms soon!

This seminar is structured to build your understanding step by step. We will begin with the chemistry of essential oils and how they are produced, because extraction method influences VOC composition. Then we will examine the VOC profiles of each scent‑work oil in detail, including the dominant compounds and their volatility characteristics. After that, we will explore environmental factors such as temperature and vapour pressure, which determine how VOCs evaporate and disperse. We will also discuss odour cocktailing — the mixing of multiple VOC sources — and overshadowing, where a stronger odour masks a weaker one. Finally, we will look at VOCs released by adhesives, plastics, and storage materials, which can unintentionally influence the scent picture and affect training outcomes. By the end of the lecture, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how scent‑work odours behave in the real world.